Lost Clutch then it came back!!!!

[XenSS06]

Ok story time.......

So I'm driving to work the same as i always do. I get off at my exit and i downshift to 2nd then 1st then stop.

The light changes to green i turn and start up this small hill like i do everyday 1st gear up to about 3500ish (rpm's) and shift to 2nd and so on.

Well when i went to shift to second it was like my stick slammed into a brick wall i thought i missed 2nd like a retard as i listened to the rpm's wind out.

Well i pushed the clutch again and tried to put it in it was tight as hell but it went in (no i dint grind it in).

So i get to my work parking lot and i park and i went to put it in to reverse and shut the car off like i do everyday and reverse is a brick wall i cant even pull it in. so I'm like what the @#$% you know.

so now that I'm in the parking lot and only have like 8 mins to go clock in i do a little troubleshooting.

I did the following:

Noted that the Clutch felt loose as hell no pressure at all only the return spring or assist spring as i have heard it called and it caught real low as appose to the high catch I'm used to.

First:

• Pushed the Clutch and tried to run the gears.
• 1st Gear: Like a wall real tight but got in
• 2nd Gear: Was a wall but after like the 3rd try i got it in
• 3rd Gear: Notchy but went in
• 4th Gear: Less Notchy than 3rd but could feel it but went in pretty easy
• 5th Gear: Same as 4th gear
• Reverse: Locked out Brick Wall i stopped trying to get it in.

Next:

• I shut the Car off.
• Ran all gears again both with clutch in and out i went in and out of all gears and reverse no problem.

Now I'm almost late so i go and punch in and get a slip from my boss that will tell the guards that its ok for me to go outside even though I'm on the clock.

So me and my friend get passes and go out to my car .
I start it up and it still the same. We both start to Troubleshoot:

• Looked under Car No Leaks
• Looked in engine bay no leaks

Then we started to just do the good old clutch pump and see where we got while still looking for leaks. Needless to say we found non.

Next we Checked the Brake Fluid which looks like it is probably low i had to look at the bend at the bottom of the reservoir to see fluid.

So we continue trying and looking and i get in the car and push the clutch again and behold a little life has entered the pedal. I pump it some and it feels like nothing happened. I ran all the gears and all good both while car was running and in the off position.

So i say " Hey it feels normal and everything feels like its normal lets take it for a ride and see."

So off we go and i ramp to 3500ish and start driving like i always do and i even hit a couple of times Everything works as designed.

So we go back to work and park i let him push the clutch he said it was like night and day. Then we went into work.

At lunch we came out i rolled half of the car up on a little hill to jack it and get under the car and listen for broken stuff look for leaks and look to see if the F35 has a access panel which it does not.

Nothing unusual was noted.

While i was in work we still tried to figured it out and one of the guys i work with said it sound like i had a damper spring or pad come out or a piece of the pad had torn and got lodged between the plate and the flywheel. He said it happened to him, but i find it hard to believe this on a car with only 38k on it but anything is possible.

So with all of the info i compiled from as much troubleshooting i could do without taking stuff apart and talk among ourselves i have concluded.

That the system is low on fluid and i must have pushed a air bubble into the system when i was on the angle of the hill which cause all of this. ( I hope!! ) Since i was unable to hear any broken sounds while under the car or while driving it.

The whole system feels fine and is operating at 100% to my knowledge their is no indications of it not. I am going to run to Auto Zone and grab some DOT3 and service the reservoir tomorrow and hope that if it was air it worked its way out.

Any comments of ideas on this subject would be great this should be a good discussion.

Thanks for listening and sorry for such a long thread.

[skymynx]

im guessing fluid

[AmericanSS]

sounds like fluid lock

[ModdedSS]

I hope it's fluid lol

[AY1 redline]

why do you downshift to first?

[CtCobaltSS]

I don't know man it must be fluid. I don't understand how it got so low but it's either that or an internal problem, switch or sensor. Keep us posted Xen, let us know if the fluid was low. I would lay off downshifting to first as well.

[XenSS06]

Originally Posted by AY1 redline

why do you downshift to first?

Originally Posted by CtCobaltSS

I don't know man it must be fluid. I don't understand how it got so low but it's either that or an internal problem, switch or sensor. Keep us posted Xen, let us know if the fluid was low. I would lay off downshifting to first as well.

Its not a true down shift and ride the gears to slow the car its just a motion i use 2nd to help slow then as im comming to a stop as habit i go to 1st then neutral.

why wouldnt you downshift to 1st anyways i never heard anyone say not to?

[XenSS06]

Well i checked the fluid and its well above the min level line.
So im just going to assume that i got air in their some how and it worked it self out because i have no signs that anything is wrong anymore.
system is operating at 100% as far as i can tell.

Unless someone has a cherry picker and a lift and wants to drop my tranny and put it back together over the weekend. lol i just have to go with it.

[CtCobaltSS]

Cool man as long as she is opperating ok you should be good. You may be right. It could have been air. I was just saying lay off the downshifting to 1st because it isn't necessary at all. So no sense in putting more wear and tear on the clutch and tranny if it's not necessary that's all. Good stuff man i'm glad it worked itself out.

[Light'balt]

Gremlins, they like to mess with your head.........

on a side note I usually throw it in neutral and coast to a stop. It saved me once.

I was gonna roll through a stop sign when this car came outta nowhere doin about 80 in a 35 luckily I was in neutral and hit the gas instead of the brake, had I been in first it would have been ugly.